Neo-Nazi marcher faces jail in Lithuania

August 12, 2008 9:00am

Lithuanian prosecutors charged a participant in a neo-Nazi march with hate crimes.

Paulus Patsyulyavichyus is facing two years in prison after being charged with inciting ethnic hatred and violence, according to the Jewish.ru Web site. If convicted, he would be the first participant from a March 11 demonstration to face jail time.

Approximately 200 skinheads paraded through the center of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in the anti-Semitic and anti-Russian demonstration. Participants shouted slogans such as “Jews out” and “Lithuania without Russians.”

Three other participants were ordered to pay fines.

The march brought an outcry from Jewish and international organizations. Lithuania President Valdas Adamkus decried the fact that the march was allowed.

“Such incidents must not be tolerated,” he told the French press agency. “A state which honors the law and calls itself a democratic country must uphold rights.”